VALENCIA SQUAD DETAILS

CoachPako Ayestaran

Pako Ayestaran took over from Gary Neville as Valencia boss in March 2016 after the Englishman was sacked with eight games of the season to play.

Ayestaran’s links with Valencia far precede his employment under Neville, however, as he was Rafa Benitez’s No 2 at the club between 2001 and 2004. The pair guided Los Che to two La Liga titles and a UEFA Cup, before they moved to Liverpool and experienced similar success, delivering the Champions League in their first season at Anfield.

The Basque severed his ties with Benitez in 2007, yet his big break did not come until six years later, when he managed Mexican side Tecos for a solitary campaign. He then won a domestic treble in Israel with Maccabi Tel Aviv in 2015 and earned the Valencia gig full-time after he comfortably steered the latter to La Liga safety last term.